Rotary weft-measurer.



G. POTSTADA.

ROTARY WEFT MEASURER.

APPLICATION F1LED 11111.27, 1914.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

. 11v VENTOR 2 5mm" fi/trm/q.

M WWORNE Y.

fWlTNES S.-

G. POTSTADA.

' ROTARY WEFT MEASURER;

APPLICATION FILED ]AN.27, 1914.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

A 9 .p w m R w VDOW m E u w 4 6 G g M V k w 9 km w a m .fl. W%# f/fl G. POTSTADA.

ROTARY WEFT MEASURER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.27, 1914.

1,164,959. Patented Dec. 21,1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

IN VEN TOR. 7

W I TNESSES:

' G. POTSTADA.

ROTARY WEFT MEASURER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.27, 1914.

1,164,959. Patented Dec.21, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES: IN VENTOR.

W fafiaf Pdramm,

GEORGE PO'I S'I'ADA, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ROTARY WEFT- EASURER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE Po'rsTADA, a citizen of the United States, residing at San I Francisco, in the county of San Francisco position pearance of the weft thread after it has been and State of California, have invented a new and useful Rotary Weft-Measurer, of which the following is a specification'in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

This invention relates to'a rotary measuring device for looms and its object is to precisely determine the length of a thread to be woven into a strip of cloth by the shuttle or weft carrier.

This invention is especially intended to-be used in connection with the vweaving of cloth from a pair of large spools of yarn at each side of the strip of cloth in the loom, the weft threads being out automatically'to a length precisely twice the width of the strip of cloth in'the loom, the object being to dispense as far as possible withthe use of small spools of yarn and bobbins in the shuttle or weft carrier.

Additional objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing in which the same reference numeral is applied to the same portion throughout, but I am aware that there are many modifications thereof. 1 f

Figure 1 isv a side elevation of the complete apparatus looking toward the frame of the loom, Fig. 2 is a plan View of the complete apparatus, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View of the measuring device, also illustrating aportion of theframe of the loom, Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the of, the spools of yarn and the apwoven into the cloth, Fig. 4 is an elevation of the measuring apparatus looking in a direction opposite to that of Fig. 1, Fig, 5 is i a back view of the rotary thread measuring wheel, Fig.6 is {an enlarged view of the upper portion of the thread measuringwheel illustrating the position of the knife when cutting the thread, the cam operating the knife being indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 7 a view partly'in section of the thread'measuring finger and the periphery of the disk which carries it, a portion of the thread; measuring finger being broken away irregularly to show the meanson the rotary wheel 47 for lifting Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

Application filed January 27, 1914. Serial No. 814,698.

the thread out of the notch in the finger 48, the plane of section being at right angles to Fig. 8, Fig. 8 is a plan view of the thread measuring finger, Fig. 9 is a plan view of a portion of the top of the. measuring device illustrating the position of the thread and the parts related thereto, when a fresh length of thread is to be carried through the shuttle, Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the casing within which the measuring device works, the measuring wheel and cover plate being removed for purposes of illustration, Fig. 11 is a plan view of a portion of the top of the measuring device illustrating the position of the thread when the loop end is to be carried through the shed, and Fig. 12 is a bottom plan view of the thread holding slide- This measuring apparatus is assembled at opposite ends of a single shaft below and parallel to the lay of the loom, one measuring device being right-handed and the other lefthanded, but otherwise one is a duplicate of the other so that only a description of one will be given.

The device comprises a flat casing 1 having a projecting boss 2, which boss affords a journal bearing for a shaft 3. The casing is suspended from the lay of the loom f by means of a bracket 5 depending therefrom and said boss is held in a fixed position by means of the'set screw 6. Mounted within the casing (see Fig. '10) is a cam 7 the boss 2 being extended within said casing to afford a bearing for the cam to rotate on as indicated at 8, a set screw 9 being provided to secure said cam tightly in place when it has been once adjusted.

Extending through the back of the casing the cam is provided with an arm 10, which arm is provided with threads which mesh with the threads of the worm 11. This worm 11 is carried by a small shaft 12 in a bracket 13 on the side of the casing, a collar 14: pre-' venting said shaft from moving longitudinally'when once it is placed in the bracket 13.v

The object of this adjustment is to enable the cam to be movedback and forth the necessary amount to cause the knife to cutoff the exact.

notch there is secured a' plate 16 which has a" shoulder 17 to precisely determine the position the thread will occupy when drawn out of the casing and when being otherwise operated upon by the parts engaging it, as will appear later.

At the side of the casing there is a light spring 18 which bears upon the disk 19 to prevent the thread from becoming entan gled and is released by the measuring finger.

At the top of the casing there isa' segmental slide 20 which slide has a hook eye 21 and two fingers 22 and 23 at its middle portion.

The slide has two slots 24'and 25'and is held in place in the casingby means of two short bolts. 26 and 27, the pressure of said bolts upon the slide being regulated by'means of a spring 28 within each of the threaded caps 29 :and 30. At the back of the slide there is a notch 31 for a purpose to be described presently. Secured to the underside of'the slide is the spring knife 33 and the spring thread'holder 34. Thespringknife 33 has one portion turned up as indicated at 35 to form the cutting plate and passed between the two fingers 22 and23 and it has another portion 36 turned up to enter the slot 31 to hold thethread holder 34 in the proper position and to'prevent the thread from pass ingoif the rotary disk by any chance.

The thread holder carriesa steel shoe 37 on its underside which bears on the ring cam 38 secured to the measuringdisk. The fingers 22 [and 23 are for the purpose of;

' holding the thread in the proper position to one time the thread carrier picksup'the end be picked up by the thread carrier each time it is presented'to the measuring disk, but

of the loop, while upon itsreturn .it'picks up the fresh end thereof, so that thep'osition of the fingers must be shifted to present the proper end of the thread to the thread carrier. This'shiftingis accomplished bymeans of the two levers 40 and 4-1; These levers are pivoted to the casing at42 and43 respectively and they have depending portions l4 and 45,- the surfacesof which are soshaped' as to shift the slide from oneposition to the V other upon each rotation'ofthe disk, a pin 456. carried by the disk causing the slide to be shifted as required. T It will be observed that the thread carrier :C is indicated in dotted lines in Fig..11 under one portion of the thread and with its jaws in engagement with the cut-olf'1oop.

At this time the thread has been measured and is readV to'be released when thecarrier isthrown through the shed. In Fig, .9' the 4 carrier is indicated in a position to engage the fresh end of the loop to draw the weft through the shed, Fig. 11 being the "position succeeding that of-Fig. 9'andafter them- 'gageinent of the'loop=has.occurred'. 'When .theth'read has been carried from the position indicated 'in- Fig. 9 .thro,ugh the. shed and; beatenup. into; the cloth it; occupies theposition illustrated in Fig. 2, in which the disk47' is totsuch a position as to bring the measuring finger or looper 48 opposite the fingers 22 and 23. In order to insure the retention ofthe thread by the measuring finger it is provided with'a notch 49, while the fingeris also grooved as indicated in Fig. 8 at 50 to enable a small finger A. car-.

ried by the periphery of the. disk 47*to'lift the" thread out'of: the notch 49 when the finger recedes at the end of the loop.

The finger is held in place on the disk by I means of. the screw51 which passesthrough a slot 52'in'the thread measuring finger and it is-held normally in the position shown in Fig. 5 by means of the spring '53 bearing upon it. The lower-end of the finger rests upon the cam 7; and has its travel determined thereby, the adjustment of said cam determining the length of .time the finger will act uponthe loop, In orderto insure f the lifting of the thread to the proper'posi-j. tion to be caught by'the finger 18, a cam rim 55'is s'cre'wedon the side of the disk as the latter rotates. On the front the? disk isprovided. with the ring. cam 38 screwed thereto, which cam ('seeFig. 1) is so shaped as" to lift the thread holder and thread against the underside of the slide 20 from the point D to the point C during which goesto A. which'is the positionfcorrespond ing to thatofF ig. 9' thecam is slightly;-re-

leased from A to A,; thereby enabling the thread'carrier to take the end away after wh-ich the camis reduced in size from A; toD to insure a wide space for the insertion of the thread under the fingers 22 and 23 at' the proper time. 7 H

The form of weft and thesuppl-ytherefor" i is indicated in Fig. 3 in'which 60 repre;'

sents' the first weft thread. which is taken from the largespool .61, 62 representingthe first weft thread tobe, taken from the spool 63, these; threads alternating. in; position while the twoflastthreads '64 and 65* are shown in the measured andcut-off position ready to be carried through the shed order to prevent the thread from becoming entangled: with the several parts of thefmachinery, a guide eye 66issecured onthe back side of. the casings The disk is keyed to the] shaft 3;-at,6.8 and in orderv to. prevent the]; ey #9 1 os ning a sma l set srew 6.9

provided. The operating levers 40 and 41 extend into notches 40 and4l respectively of the slide 20. The end of the casing is provided with a fiat cover held in place by means of the pin Z1 extending into a hole 72 in the bottom of the casing 1, the upper portion of, the cover being provided with two springs 73 to frictionally engage the inside of the casing l and hold the cover in place.

In operation the yarn is threadedthrough the hook 21, a loose end being left hanging.

The measuring device at the opposite end of the lay is threaded up in the same manner, whereupon the loom is started. In the operation of the loom the shaft 3 is'rotated and as said shaft is rotated the finger 48 will catch the loose end of the yarn (note Fig. 2) and will draw it forwardly. When the yarn end happens to be too short to form a loop, it will be cut off and left in the position shown in Fig. 9, whereupon the carrier will come forward and pull the end through the shed, leaving said end upon its release at the opposite end of the lay. As soon as the yarn end has been carried to the opposite end of the lay the finger 48 will come around again and engage the yarn (see Fig. 2) and form the loop drawing the yarn down until the finger 48 slips off the cam 7, whereupon the knife will cut the yarn and the 100 end (see Fig. 11) will be moved into the position to be caught by the carrier on its next trip to that end of the lay, the several operations being repeated in the same order thereafter.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows, modifications within the scope of the claims being expressly reserved:

1. A rotary weft measurer comprising the combination of a slide having yarn holding fingers, means to shift the slide to present opposite ends of the yarn in a given place, a revoluble disk, a looper carried by said disk to engage the yarn and draw the loop, means to disengage said looper from the yarn when the loop has been made the desired length, and means to cut the yarn adj acent the holding fingers.

2. In a rotary weft measurer, the combination of a slide, yarn holding fingers carried thereby, a revoluble disk, a looper carried thereby to draw a loop in the yarn, means to release said looper from the yarn when the loop has been made of sufficient length. and means to shift said slide to present alternately the loop ends and the spool ends of the yarn to a weft carrier.

3. In a weft measurer, the combination of a casing, a slide carried thereby, yarn holding fingers carried by said slide, a revoluble disk, a looper carried by said disk to engage the yarn and form a loop therein, means to disengage said looper from the yarn when the loop is of the desired length, means to cut the yarn adjacent the fingers, and means toshift said slide to present alternately the loop ends and the spool ends of the yarn to a weft carrier.

I 4. A rotary weft measurer comprising the combination of a casing, a slide carried thereby, yarn holding fingers carried by said slide, a revoluble disk in the casing, a looper carried by the disk to engage the yarn and form a loop therein, adjustable means to cause said looper to be disengaged from the yarn when the loop is of the desired length, means to cut the yarn adjacent the holding fingers, and means to shift said slide to present alternately the loop ends and the spool ends of the yarn to a weft carrier.

5. In a rotary weft measurer, the combina tion of a casing, a slide carried thereby, yarn holding fingers carried by said slide, a knife adjacent said fingers, a revoluble disk having a cam thereon to operate said knife, a looper carried by said disk to engage the yarn and form a loop therein, means to disengage said looper fro-m the yarn when the loop is of the desired length, whereupon said cam causes the knife to out said yarn between said fingers, and means to shift said slide to present alternately the loop ends and the spool ends of the yarn to a weft carrier.

6. In a weft carrier, the combination of a casing, a slide carried thereby, two yarn holding fingers and a hook eye on said slide, a revoluble disk, a looper carried by said disk to engage the yarn and form a loop therein, means to disengage the looper from the yarn when the loop is of the desired length, means to adjust the position of disengagement of said looper to determine the exact length of the loop, a knife extending between the yarn holding fingers, a cam carried by the disk to cause the knife to out the yarn when the loop has been formed, and means to shift said slide to present alternately the loop ends and the spool ends of the yarn to a. weft carrier.

7. In a weft measurer. the combination of I a casing, a slide carried thereby. two yarn holding fingers carried by said slide, a revoluble disk. means carried by said disk to shift the said slide, a looper carried by said disk to engage the yarn and form a loop therein, two levers secured to the casing for shifting the position of the slide to present alternately the loop ends and the spool ends to a. weft carrier, a knife to cut the yarn adjacent the fingers, and a cam carried by the disk to operate said knife.

8. A rotary weft measureroomprising the combination of a casing, a slide carried thereby, yarn holding fingers and a hook eye on said slide, a revoluble disk, a looper carried by said disk to engage. the yarn and form a loop therein, means to disengage said looper from the yarn when the loop is of the desired length, means torcut the yarn between the yarn holding fingers, a cam carried by the disk to press the yarn holder into engagement with said fingers and hav- 5 ing a depression therein to permit the partia'l release'of the yarn after it is cut and another depression therein to permit the full release of the yarn When the spool end thereof is to be picked by the Weft carrier, and.

i0 means to shift the slide to present alternately message the loop ends and the spool ends'fof the yarn to a Weftcarrier. V

V In testimony whereof 'I have hereunto :set 7' my hand this 20th day ,of January A. D. 1914, in the; presence of the two subscribed 15 Witnesses. 1

V I v .GEORGEPOTSTADA. 4 V Witnesses C P. IGRLFFINL,I 'HENRY B. LISTER.

t'lop ies of this pa'cent'may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G) V i 

